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Sharing – Harvest

Aim:

To explain the children that God has given us good things which are to be shared.

Bible base:

1 Kings 17:7-24. Elijah and the widow.

You will need:

Sultanas

Suitable props for the characters, eg a scarf for the woman, a stick for Elijah

Presentation

Introduction

Ask for two volunteers who like sultanas and share them out unfairly between them and you – make sure you get most and that they have just one or two each. Ask them to share theirs with others. Are they keen to do so? Why? Comment on the unfairness of the distribution and even it out.

It is easier to share something if you have lots, and much harder if you have just a small amount. Ask the children which things are easy to share and which are hard. Talk about how sharing means that everyone gets something.

Story

Tell the story of Elijah and the widow, using the different props.

Elijah was a man who knew God, talked to God and did what God told him to do. One day God told Elijah to go to a town called Zarephath, and to stay with a lady and her son there.

When Elijah got to Zarephath he saw the woman coming towards him. She was collecting sticks to burn on her fire.

‘Please give me a drink of water,’ said Elijah, ‘and some bread to eat.’

‘I have no bread,’ said the lady. ‘There is just enough flour in my bowl and oil in my jar to make one last meal for me and my son, and then we will die because we have no more food.’

There had been no rain there for a very long time and now there was very little food for everyone.

‘Don’t worry,’ said Elijah. ‘Just make your meal, but first make a small loaf for me. God says that until it rains again, there will always be enough flour in the bowl and oil in the jar.’

The lady did as Elijah said. She shared her meal by making some bread for him and then some for herself and her son. Every time she made the bread, there was always enough flour and always enough oil. From the day until it rained again, they had just enough food to eat.

Application

Remind the children of how hard it is to share something when you have very little of it. The lady had almost nothing left, but she shared it with Elijah, and God was pleased with her.

You might want to leave a small bag of sultanas for each class, to make the point more clearly!

Prayer

End with a prayer asking god to help us to share, even when it is hard to do so.